Soul and R&B

Ray Charles

Blended gospel, blues, jazz, and R&B; known as the "Genius of Soul"

Sam Cooke

Began as a gospel singer with the Soul Stirrers; blended spiritual sincerity with themes of romance and civil rights

Motown sound

A polished, clean blend of soul, pop, and R&B created to appeal to a broad audience

Berry Gordy

Founder of Motown Records

Major Motown artists

Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

Lead singer of The Miracles and one of Motown's earliest stars

Holland-Dozier-Holland

Legendary songwriting and production team behind the classic Motown sound

The Funk Brothers

Motown's house band responsible for backing nearly all Motown hits

Motown's approach to artistic grooming

Trained artists in etiquette, speech, and appearance for crossover appeal

Maxine Powell's Finishing School

An etiquette and grooming school hired by Motown to polish artists' public image

Cholly Atkins

Choreographer who taught Motown artists coordinated stage moves and dance routines

Stax sound

A rough, raw, and gritty soul sound from Memphis

Booker T. and the MGs

Stax's house band, similar to Motown's Funk Brothers

Wilson Pickett

Stax artist known for "In the Midnight Hour"

Otis Redding

Stax's biggest star and a symbol of Southern soul

Muscle Shoals Studio

Known for producing soul, R&B, rock, and country in Alabama

Jerry Wexler

Atlantic Records producer who coined the term "rhythm and blues"

Aretha Franklin

Queen of Soul, worked with Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records

James Brown

"Godfather of Soul," pioneer of funk music

The Famous Flames

Group that James Brown started with

James Brown's funk style

Emphasized polyrhythms, interlocking parts, percussive singing, call and response

James Brown's example of funk style

"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"

Stevie Wonder

Blind Motown artist with crossover appeal; known for "Isn't She Lovely"

Stevie Wonder's innovation at Motown

Broke away from polished Motown formula; wrote and produced his own music

Stevie Wonder's blended styles

Soul, funk, jazz, pop, reggae, and synth-based sounds

Prince

Cultural icon who blended funk, rock, R&B, pop, soul, and new wave

Purple Rain

A landmark album that catapulted Prince to global fame

Prince's challenge to norms

Through his music and performances, questioned gender, sexuality, and race norms

Prince's role as a mentor

Launched and produced other artists, encouraged artistic independence

Prince's stance on the music industry

Fought against corporate control and advocated for artist ownership

Go-Go music

A subgenre of funk from Washington, DC with a percussion-driven, interactive style

Musical elements of Go-Go

Percussion focus, shuffle groove, lead talker, audience interaction, continuous performance

Chuck Brown

Godfather of Go-Go music, known for the song "Run Joe"